Valor Review, Spring Break with PICS

[newt98]

Fantastic review! You kept me thoroughly entertained! Thanks! :)

 

We went on the Valor last (2008) May and loved her...Thank you for sharing your fun cruise and keeping our memories going....I may just have to book the Vaor again!

 

I really enjoyed reading your review and looking at all your wonderful pictures. I'm bummed its over too. :p

 

 

 

thank you to all.

[DGP1111]

A sincere Thank You to Mike and family for allowing us to join your cruise vacation in this "online" fashion. It was obviously a fun time for all, as you can't fake the kind of enjoyment you show through the pictures, and I can only imagine how hard it can be to keep a family of seven all entertained at the same time.

Kudos on a superb review, and Thanks, again!!! :) :)

[Elaine515]

thanks, i don't know what to do with myself now. i guess i need to start getting ready for the next one, but i don't think i'm ready to close the book on this one.:(

 

 

No Mike you can't close the book... You have to keep going... even through I was right there with you I loved reading/seeing keeping up with what you guys did during the week...

 

I actually looked forward to coming onto Cruise Critic just to keep reading your posts and seeing your pictures... Thnx so much for keeping us all entertained...

 

And now I have to go back to work on Monday :( Until the next one...

[newt98]

A sincere Thank You to Mike and family for allowing us to join your cruise vacation in this "online" fashion. It was obviously a fun time for all, as you can't fake the kind of enjoyment you show through the pictures, and I can only imagine how hard it can be to keep a family of seven all entertained at the same time.

Kudos on a superb review, and Thanks, again!!! :) :)

 

 

thanks, and the fam had a great time, and we didnt really have to do much to keep them entertained. i'm sure you can see that they all looked to be having a great time at all times.

 

No Mike you can't close the book... You have to keep going... even through I was right there with you I loved reading/seeing keeping up with what you guys did during the week...

 

I actually looked forward to coming onto Cruise Critic just to keep reading your posts and seeing your pictures... Thnx so much for keeping us all entertained...

 

And now I have to go back to work on Monday :( Until the next one...

 

it was fun doing the review. and apparently i havent closed the book because i keep getting on here to see the review myself. eventually it will slide down to page two, and then off to cyberspace.:(

[lollylew]

thanks, i don't know what to do with myself now. i guess i need to start getting ready for the next one, but i don't think i'm ready to close the book on this one.:(

 

I'm sure that booking your next cruise will just get you all excited again!! I also noticed that you and your dw are in the Western US. Have you guys thought of driving down to CA (or flying since it is MUCH cheaper than flying to the East Coast) and doing one of the five day Cabo cruises? I know that when I get off the Valor at the end of my cruise in May, it will be sooo nice thinking of how I already have another one booked (to Cabo) for September!! (Not to tempt you but I booked an inside cabin on the Upper deck for around $302/pp with all the taxes - might be something to look at :))

[Ron_L]

thanks, i don't know what to do with myself now. i guess i need to start getting ready for the next one, but i don't think i'm ready to close the book on this one.:(

 

You could always pop into this thread every couple of days and post a random picture :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for all of the work you put into the review. We'll be on Valor in 8 days and experiencing your trip through your words and pictures is making us anticipate the trip even more.

[MustardMan]

Incredible review!

 

Isn't it terrible to have kids that are so camera shy??? :rolleyes:

 

You guys are all very photogenic!

 

I did that itinerary in a different order on the Legend last year, your pics had me reliving a lot of good memories!

[newt98]

I'm sure that booking your next cruise will just get you all excited again!! I also noticed that you and your dw are in the Western US. Have you guys thought of driving down to CA (or flying since it is MUCH cheaper than flying to the East Coast) and doing one of the five day Cabo cruises? I know that when I get off the Valor at the end of my cruise in May, it will be sooo nice thinking of how I already have another one booked (to Cabo) for September!! (Not to tempt you but I booked an inside cabin on the Upper deck for around $302/pp with all the taxes - might be something to look at :))

 

we did a 3 day out of L.A. last year, but the caribbean is our favorite. but we will probably take the full mexican riviera at some point.

 

You could always pop into this thread every couple of days and post a random picture :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for all of the work you put into the review. We'll be on Valor in 8 days and experiencing your trip through your words and pictures is making us anticipate the trip even more.

 

it's not like i don't have enough pics.

 

Incredible review!

 

Isn't it terrible to have kids that are so camera shy??? :rolleyes:

 

You guys are all very photogenic!

 

I did that itinerary in a different order on the Legend last year, your pics had me reliving a lot of good memories!

 

 

lol, with all the cameras we had on the ship, we have around 4000 pics total. and i think half of them are of my girls takiing pics of themselves.

[hightownCO]

Really enjoyed your review. Appreciate the time you spent on it. You have a beautiful family.

 

Have been watching price on a sailing on Valor and couple of other ships. After reading your review I think Valor is the one we want.

 

Thanks Again!

[BJHOOSER]

Mike thank you for the information on my scooter. I will give it a shot and see what happens.

I know what you mean, we never want it to end but end it must, well unless we won the lottery....lol.

We replay it in our memorys for a long time. I am happy about your cruise and the fun you had. Looks like everyone enjoyed it as well as your posting. Now print this off and submit to a publisher.... Makes a good book.

I want to say kudos to Rhonda too, for being such a great person, she would have to be to love your kids as much as she seems to and they in return seem to love her. You really lucked out getting such a great person, hard to find.

Happy Cruising with, or without, kids for years to come...

[emmysmommy]

Mike: Awesome job!!! Your review makes me wish that I didn't have to wait 140 days to be on the Valor. :D You have a beautiful family.

[Indestructible]

Yes Mike you are a great reviewer indeed. You were also very friendly in all of the posts leading up to this cruise. Kept giving me ideas and was a fun way to kill the time until the cruise date. Hopefully, there will be people equally eager to set sail on the Dream next March. Cruise critic really helped pass the time on days I was stuck in the house in cold and snowy Pennsylvania. So now I've sailed Triumph, Miracle and Valor. I've been trying to decide which I liked best and I can't pick one.

Triumph was cool because it was my very first and had no idea what to expect. We had 27 people in our group as my neice was celebrating a honeymoon / family reunion. I had a lot of fun and it was probably because there were a lot more people that I knew to do stuff with at night.

 

Miracle was a nice ship. The first port was Panama. Panama is cool to see the canal, but otherwise it wasn't much fun of a port. Costa Rica was amazing!!! Zip lining was awesome and bring Costa Rican coffee home was great too. I missed Belize. I was supposed to do cave tubing last year but got horrible sunburn the day before and just hung at the shops at the port.

 

And Valor was awesome too. I had talked back and forth a lot on cruise critic and made some friends and that was nice. This one for me was more of a laid back kinda feeling. I didn't really drink much or spend any time in the bars. Just chilled when I wasn't in port.

 

Next year will be Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. I think it will be my last cruise for a while ( though it seems like the only time I see my family in Florida ). I think it's time to try something different. And today, I found a job where I'd be stationed in Hawaii, now that might be cool!!! Also found one in Washington State.

 

Haven't even been off the ship a week yet and am ready to go back.

 

Catch ya'll on the boards,

Chris:cool:

[SAAdds1]

 

Here are the kids directly behind the hotel.

 

They look like typical Florida teens - flip flops and all!!!

:D

 

Nice looking group you have.

[SAAdds1]

Great review. Hubby and I will be on the Valor in July 2009, celebrating our 25th anniversary (WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!)

 

Can't wait.

 

 

BTW, LOVE LOVE LOVE the Gator visor! Way to represent! Go Gators!!!

 

LOL. I didn't even notice that.

[SAAdds1]

Coming up.....

06/13/2009 Carnival Liberty Western Caribbean

 

 

Hey! I'm on that cruise. :D

Can you recommend a safe, decent, and inexpensive place to stay? I was thinking about Hampton Inn in Plantation.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Mike. I haven't found too many people who are going on this cruise, and someone who can talk to me about the area.

We will be driving down from NE FL and thought we would stop off around the Ft. Lauderdale area to make our drive on June 12 shorter.

[SAAdds1]

 

 

 

ROFL!! That was very funny.

[cruzy-sue]

I will be on the Valor in less than a month - a true "shopper" question:

 

I noticed the girls had shopping bags when in Roatan - Where was there to shop - and for what? Did they (and your wife) find good shopping in any of the other ports?

 

And again - really, really nice review.

[NAMVET]

Great review. We will be on the Valor in November for the original SALUTE TO VETERANS cruise out of Miami. Looks like we are going to have a great time on a great ship. We invite anyone interested to join us. See our roll call 11-8-09 on the Valor roll calls:D

[newt98]

Yes Mike you are a great reviewer indeed. You were also very friendly in all of the posts leading up to this cruise. Kept giving me ideas and was a fun way to kill the time until the cruise date. Hopefully, there will be people equally eager to set sail on the Dream next March. Cruise critic really helped pass the time on days I was stuck in the house in cold and snowy Pennsylvania. So now I've sailed Triumph, Miracle and Valor. I've been trying to decide which I liked best and I can't pick one.

Triumph was cool because it was my very first and had no idea what to expect. We had 27 people in our group as my neice was celebrating a honeymoon / family reunion. I had a lot of fun and it was probably because there were a lot more people that I knew to do stuff with at night.

 

Miracle was a nice ship. The first port was Panama. Panama is cool to see the canal, but otherwise it wasn't much fun of a port. Costa Rica was amazing!!! Zip lining was awesome and bring Costa Rican coffee home was great too. I missed Belize. I was supposed to do cave tubing last year but got horrible sunburn the day before and just hung at the shops at the port.

 

And Valor was awesome too. I had talked back and forth a lot on cruise critic and made some friends and that was nice. This one for me was more of a laid back kinda feeling. I didn't really drink much or spend any time in the bars. Just chilled when I wasn't in port.

 

Next year will be Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. I think it will be my last cruise for a while ( though it seems like the only time I see my family in Florida ). I think it's time to try something different. And today, I found a job where I'd be stationed in Hawaii, now that might be cool!!! Also found one in Washington State.

 

Haven't even been off the ship a week yet and am ready to go back.

 

Catch ya'll on the boards,

Chris:cool:

 

thanks chris, we had a good time leading up to this cruise didnt we?

 

They look like typical Florida teens - flip flops and all!!!

:D

 

Nice looking group you have.

 

thank you, they get the florida look from me, lol. i was born in sarasota.:)

 

Hey! I'm on that cruise. :D

Can you recommend a safe, decent, and inexpensive place to stay? I was thinking about Hampton Inn in Plantation.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Mike. I haven't found too many people who are going on this cruise, and someone who can talk to me about the area.

We will be driving down from NE FL and thought we would stop off around the Ft. Lauderdale area to make our drive on June 12 shorter.

 

keep the thread going strong.;)

[newt98]

Mike: Awesome job!!! Your review makes me wish that I didn't have to wait 140 days to be on the Valor. :D You have a beautiful family.

 

thank you very much

 

Mike thank you for the information on my scooter. I will give it a shot and see what happens.

 

I know what you mean, we never want it to end but end it must, well unless we won the lottery....lol.

 

We replay it in our memorys for a long time. I am happy about your cruise and the fun you had. Looks like everyone enjoyed it as well as your posting. Now print this off and submit to a publisher.... Makes a good book.

 

I want to say kudos to Rhonda too, for being such a great person, she would have to be to love your kids as much as she seems to and they in return seem to love her. You really lucked out getting such a great person, hard to find.

 

 

Happy Cruising with, or without, kids for years to come...

 

yes she is a better person than i. keep me posted when you return on your scooter situation, i'll add you as a friend so i'm easy to find.

[Kcarp]

newt98,

 

We really enjoyed your review and pics. Thanks for sharing. :)

[newt98]

 

ROFL!! That was very funny.

 

it's painful from my perspective.

 

I will be on the Valor in less than a month - a true "shopper" question:

 

I noticed the girls had shopping bags when in Roatan - Where was there to shop - and for what? Did they (and your wife) find good shopping in any of the other ports?

 

And again - really, really nice review.

 

thanks, and they got the bags in the cruise center, there's a few shops. the bags were either 8 or 10 bucks i can't remember. belize has a pretty large shopping area at the cruise center, and a smaller one outside of the cruise center, we didnt find much at the one outside of the cruise center though. but it is a neat little area.

 

we didnt shop that much at cayman but there is plenty of shopping to be done there. and Cozumel has the best shopping in my, well my wife's opinion. we stopped at a little store a few blocks off of the main strip when we went to lunch, and we got some better deals in there than we did in the main shopping district.

 

Great review. We will be on the Valor in November for the original SALUTE TO VETERANS cruise out of Miami. Looks like we are going to have a great time on a great ship. We invite anyone interested to join us. See our roll call 11-8-09 on the Valor roll calls:D

 

i think you will have a great time on that ship. and thank you for your service to us.

[newt98]

newt98,

 

We really enjoyed your review and pics. Thanks for sharing. :)

 

that means alot coming from you, GO GATORS!;)

[Kcarp]

that means alot coming from you, GO GATORS!;)

HaHa!

[Indestructible]

thanks chris, we had a good time leading up to this cruise didnt we?

 

A good time for sure. That's part of what will be missing. It'll probably be a few months before the next roll call takes off. Looking forward to it though. I've started looking at stuff to do on the next one, but I don't want to spend much time over thinking it.

 

For all of those who can't get enough of Mike, maybe you should start a new message board "Mike's Daily Blog"?

 

:cool: